I will try to keep this brief and not bore you with too many details. I want you to make it through the whole blog without losing interest! :) The trip...in a word...was amazing. The country is unimaginably poor, but the believers in Moz were on fire for Christ! Granted, I was only there for 10 days, but this was my general observation. There is no politically correct, beat around the bushes, kum-ba-ya, attitudes. It is, "Do you know Christ? Well, let me tell you about him." Pretty awesome. As a whole, they really don't have a woe is me attitude. They do however have such a sense of urgency to share Christ with everyone around them. As I sit in my air conditioned home, with my loving husband, my sweet baby girl, my comfy blanket, watching a favorite family movie after a meal where we have all eaten more than we should have...it is sometimes hard to imagine life being any better. When the people of Moz lie on their dirt floor, or if it's raining, sleep standing on their mud floor, in the heat, with hungry stomachs, family members all around sick and dying with Aids, Malaria, Teburculosis, or about 1,000 other diseases, they know. They know that in Christ life can be so much more becuase of the promises He gives us. And Heaven...Heaven will be sweeter to these people than you or I could ever imagine. Rev 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
As I said before, I will be brief. So...to give you the "highlights" of what we did while in Moz. We hung out, practiced, played, did bible study, a "girl's night", and went on a village walk with the teenagers in the Sparks Handball/Sports Ministry. We painted a Green Door house that was 160square feet for a widow and her family affected with HIV to live in. We prayed over mommas and their malnourished babies at Tessa Grace Nutritional Program and Baylor was even able to donate several of her blankets, bibs, and clothes from when she was a newborn! We went to the hospital shared Jesus and gave soup with Soup Solution to the dying. Colby preached the Roman Road and then we held a food pantry for 130+ families affected by HIV and were able to give them enough food to last over two weeks. That's a big deal because they will often go days without eating anything. We went with the Project Life ministry who holds bible studies in homes of people affected by HIV. We held a VBS for a local church and shared the gospel, sang, had a craft, and gave snacks for 100+kids.
Favorit moment of the trip: When the boys from the Sparks ministry found out our team had brought them new uniforms. Our translator (who was also a member of the team) got so excited that he stopped translating and started cheering with the rest of the team. The place exploded with excitement! I cried.
Willl never forget moment: The Sparks kids read scripture from John about Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and they said, "We want to be like Christ and wash the feet of our disciples." Then they sat us down, prayed over us, and washed our feet. I cried again.
Think about it moment: We were at a church made of mud and sticks and the preacher mentioned that if you know Christ, but your neighbor does not and you have food, but your neighbor is hungry, then you should give you neighbor food in order to share the love of Christ. Remember they might not eat for days at at time, and what food they do have, they are giving to non-believers to share Christ. Talk about sacrificial giving. They're giving everything they have for Christ.
What now?
To truly experience God in a way unlike any other, GO! There is no way to really put into words what being there is like. So go and see for yourself and you will come back changed! :) I know, not everyone's cup of tea...so give! If you know of someone going on a trip, support them! You will have an eternal impact on the kingdom of Heaven...kind of awesome huh? If you don't know of anyone right now, find an organization that you believe in and support their efforts to take Christ to the world. I went with Children's Relief International. You can help support the missionaries, you can support a Tessa Grace baby and help ensure they are getting fed and cared for, you can support a Sparks student go to vocational school (kind of like their college) for only $35 a month for six months, you can build a house with Green Door for widows and orphans affected by HIV, or several other things.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! :) There is so much more to share and we would love to share it with you. Just give us a "Holla"! ;)
1 Cor 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
No comments:
Post a Comment